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Sadruddin Aga Khan




Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine , France , he was the son of His Highness Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III (1877-1957) and his second wife Andrée Joséphine Carron.
Prince Sadruddin had French , Iran ian and Swiss nationalities. He was fluent in French , English , German , Italian and spoke some Persian and Arabic .
He was an uncle of His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV , 49th Imam of the Ismailis .

Early education included private tutoring, with Prince Karim (later Aga Khan IV) , by Mustafa Kamil , a scholar from Aligarh Muslim University engaged by his father, Aga Khan III .

He graduated from Harvard University , then attended the Centre of Middle Eastern Studies and started his career as publisher of '' Paris Review ''. In 1958 he became a consultant for United Nations Educational, Scientific And Cultural Organisation . He moved to the United Nations refugee agency in 1959 , and was High Commissioner for Refugees from 1965 to 1977 , during which time there were refugee crises in Biafra , Bangladesh , Vietnam , and Chile . In 1981 his attempt to become United Nations Secretary-General was vetoed by the Soviet Union . He was coordinator for United Nations humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan from 1988 to 1990 , and a representative for humanitarian assistance in Iraq and Kuwait in 1991 . He ran again unsuccessfully for the post of Secretary-General in 1991.

He primarily resided in Switzerland . On August 27 , 1957 , he married model Nina Dyer (1930-1965), formerly wife of Baron Hans Heinrich Von Thyssen-Bornemisza . They divorced in 1962 . He married Katherine Beriketti, formerly wife of Cyril Sursock, in 1972 . She converted to Islam under the name of ''Aleya bint Abdullah''. He had no children, but had three stepsons from Katherine's earlier marriage: Alexandre, Marc, and Nicholas Sursock.

Sadruddin Aga Khan was a collector of Islamic art and books. After leaving the United Nations he became an activist on environmental and humanitarian issues. He died in Boston , Massachusetts in the United States in 2003.

Sadruddin was made a Knight Commander of the Order Of The British Empire in 2002 .


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